KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association announced its first Men’s Basketball Athlete of the Week, presented by Shift Group, for the 2023-24 season.
 
MIAA Men’s Basketball Athlete of the Week – Jaden Wells, Central Oklahoma
Jaden Wells led No. 9-ranked Central Oklahoma to four wins to start the 2023-24 season, averaging 22.5 points per game. One of the best shooters in the country, Wells is shooting 49/50/89 through four games. He is 25-for-51 overall, 15-for-30 from behind the arc, and 25-for-28 from the free-throw line. The Bronchos junior guard has scored 20, 29, 22, and 19 in four games. He also is averaged 3.5 rebounds and 3.0 steals per game this season. Wells currently leads the MIAA in points scored with 90 on the young season.
 
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
DJ Richardson – Lincoln
DJ Richardson led the MIAA in points scored opening weekend with 27.5 points per game. had a pair of huge games to lead Lincoln to a 2-0 start to the season. The senior poured in 28 points and dished four assists in a season-opening 78-70 victory over Harding. The senior then to help the Blue Tigers rally from a 13-point second half deficit scoring 27 in Lincoln’s 68-63 win over Ouachita Baptist. For the weekend, Richardson shot 58.6 percent from the field and 60.0 percent from three-point range while going 15-for-16 (93.8 percent) at the line.
 
Jordan Frison – Pittsburg State
Jordan Frison averaged 21.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game from his point guard position in his debut games for Pittsburg State last weekend. The Memphis, Tenn., native shot 57.1 percent (16-of-28) from the field and 50.0 percent (4-of-8) from three-point range to help the Gorillas post a 1-1 record in the Central Region Challenge at Kansas City, Mo. Frison contributed 20 points, nine rebounds and two assists in the Gorillas season-opening 80-73 loss to St. Cloud State. He followed that up with 22 points, six rebounds and four assists in the Gorillas 67-66 victory over Sioux Falls.
 
Owen Long – Emporia State
Owen Long reached double figures in every game and averaged 16.5 points per game on 50.0 percent shooting from the field as No. 20 Emporia State opened the season 3-1. Long scored 18 points with three assists in the Hornets season opening loss to No. 8-ranked UNC-Pembroke. The senior guard then had five three-pointers and finished with 17 points in a 72-59 win over Virginia Union. Long totaled 12 points on just six shots in the Hornets 86-76 win over Arkansas Tech. He finished the week with 19 points and three assists in an 83-63 win over Southwestern Oklahoma.
 
Stevie Strong – Newman
Strong Strong was Newman’s leading scorer this past weekend in the MIAA/NSIC Conference Challenge. Along with his 37 points on opening night, he scored the winning points of the contest making a layup with just 3.1 seconds left and scoring the ensuing free throw. Strong currently ranks second in the MIAA 26.5 points per game while also averaging 4.0 rebounds per game to begin his season.
 
Bennett Stirtz – Northwest Missouri
Bennett Stirtz averaged 20.0 points as No. 1-ranked Northwest split a pair of games at the Hillyard Classic. The reigning MIAA Freshman of the Year scored 11 points to go along with five rebounds, three assists and two steals in an 18-point win over No. 21-ranked Northern State. Stirtz put up a career-high 29 points and drilled six 3-pointers in a 63-56 loss to Southwest Minnesota State on Saturday in St. Joseph. Stirtz made all five of his free throw attempts, grabbed two rebounds, handed out an assist and was credited with a steal against the Mustangs.
 
ALSO NOMINATED
Kaleb Hammeke (Fort Hays State), Darius Dawson (Missouri Southern), Brady Christiansen (Washburn), Jalen Knott (Central Missouri), Anthony Allen (Northeastern State)
 
ABOUT SHIFT GROUP
Shift Group is a training and recruiting platform placing talented, retired collegiate and professional athletes in high caliber Software Sales positions. Athletes spend their lives engaging in team-based activities where they are rewarded for performance-based outcomes. Competitive drive, work ethic, and the desire to win are innate qualities of those performing at elite levels. Athletes at this level must have discipline, resilience, and grit. These are the intangible parts of any elite athlete’s identity. When combined with confidence, curiosity, and coachability, these traits separate great athletes – and great salespeople. Salesmanship can be taught. It requires the right attitude, habits, and skills – learned, practiced, and repeated in the right environment in order to be mastered. Once an athlete finishes Shift Group training, they get access to hiring managers at Startups, Fortune 500’s, and other organizations building out sales teams across the globe – with the Shift Group team coaching them through every step of the process.